Kisho of Kearegone
by Rionarayne
Summary: Lara goes on an expedition and gets taken on the ride of her life. Chapters redone - Chapter 6 coming soon!
1. Fresh Start

Chapter One: Fresh Start  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, but any other unfamiliar characters are mine.  
  
Lara sat quietly in the dark windowsill of her room. She found herself doing that more and more often at night lately. As she sat there, alone, listening to the rain, she thought about her mother and father. Their would be 22nd Anniversary was coming up and she always got a little depressed thinking about it. After all, they were both dead. She sighed and slouched over to her bed; she desperately needed sleep.  
  
Tomorrow she was going to India on an expedition. The purpose of the trip was to find a Talisman. Some ancient scrolls had been found that told about it. It had come up in almost every one of the scrolls. Supposedly, it let the possessor travel through time for all eternity. The Talisman itself was a sword that an ancient tribe worshipped. A carving was found on the wall of one of this certain tribe's temples that warned that if an evil person wanted to obtain the sword for cruel intentions, all the demons of Hell would be set free. The carving also mentioned, Kisho, who used the sword to free his people from imprisonment and end the Dark Age of Kearegone. That's how the Talisman got its name.  
  
Recently, more information had been discovered on another set ancient scrolls frozen in ice. The scrolls told where the Talisman was, and had the whole legend, but they didn't say exactly how to get to it. The area they were going to was in the middle of a jungle surrounded by guerilla fighters and other scattered military personnel. It would be dangerous and hot, and Lara was very skeptical about the whole thing. She couldn't believe that the committee was driving itself mad over something that probably didn't exist. Although, it was only a year ago that she traveled all around the world looking for two halves of a triangle that was also supposed to enable you to travel through time. It would certainly be and adventure, at any rate. Since it was suddenly of profound interest, Lara was chosen to be a part of an elite team researching the site. She was supposed to leave pretty much as soon as she got up tomorrow. For now, however, she would need to get some sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Lara awoke to the obnoxious sound of her alarm clock. She took a long shower and made no hurry in packing. She didn't really know how long she'd be staying, but she packed only about twelve sets of clothes. She would carry about a day's worth of clothes in her backpack all the time, and then every other day, she would go back to a checkpoint where all of her other clothes were. The checkpoint was important; it had a small hospital and a main tent with a kitchen and sanitary drinking water. There was also a landing area and a helipad. The team, however, for the most part would be staying in tents at the campsite.  
  
Finally, at about noon, Lara climbed into her jet and took off. It was slow at the start because it was cloudy, but she made good time. Most of the team was already at the checkpoint awaiting her arrival. A few hours later, when the rest of the team came, they introduced themselves. The one who caught Lara's eye the most was a guy named Kevin. He had deep brown eyes and long, black hair that he kept loosely in a low ponytail. She didn't really get a chance to talk much with him before the others ran up to shake her hand. There were two women named Riona and Rhea and a short bald man named Scott. There were also of course their native guides, Nebeelah and Mustafa.  
  
The team trekked through the jungle to the campsite for about an hour before setting up in a flat, open area. A few trucks arrived shortly after and dropped off tents and other necessities. The tents were set up in a circle, Lara's tent right beside Kevin's. The two didn't talk much then either, because everyone was busy running back and forth between the truck and the tents. One by one, they all finished and the trucks rolled away. While everyone was sleeping, Lara laid in her tent, swatting mosquitoes before finally settling into an uneasy sleep. 


	2. Dark Dream

Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, but any unfamiliar characters are mine.   
  
Chapter 2: The Dark Dream  
  
A thunderstorm stomped across the sky. Out of the black, swirling clouds came a demon. Half dragon, half man, its black, scaled body slithered in between the massive clouds, igniting the earth below with the flames that came from it's blazing eyes. Then a man, wielding a black sword delivered a powerful blow to the demon's chest. The hellish creature made a heart stopping, blood curdling, screaming roar before bursting into a fiery mass and disappearing. The rain ceased and the clouds parted. A ray of bright sunlight shot across the sky, sending yellow streaks across the black. A gentle breeze flowed through the air, dancing around the burning trees. A sudden screech of a monkey brought Lara back to reality. 


	3. Spectacular

Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, but any unfamiliar characters are mine.  
  
Chapter 3: Spectacular  
  
It took Lara a while to fully wake up. She stuck her head outside her tent and looked around, realizing that the rest of the team was still asleep. That gave Lara just enough time to head to the nearby stream and clean up. To her it felt like heaven; the water flowing down her back, sending a cooling sensation throughout her body-- very different from the heavy, sticky jungle heat.  
  
As soon as she finished up, she quickly put her clothes back on and ran back to the camp. Most of the team was already up, but Kevin was still sleeping soundly. She had to wake him up because it was almost time to go and she had to go check and make sure that everything she needed was in her backpack: 4 medi- packs, 2 bottles of water, M & M's (just in case), a camera, and some spare pistol ammo.  
  
When everyone had something to eat, Mustafa took the lead while Nebeelah brought up the back. Lara kept near Kevin, in hopes of starting a conversation.  
  
"Are you. . . . eh . . . . seeing anyone, Kevin?" Lara asked while attempting eye contact.  
  
"Not anymore," Kevin replied. "No, uh, my ex. . . well, let's just say that I wasn't quite her type."  
  
"Oh. Well, if you don't mind my asking, what was the problem?"  
  
"Well, it was a lot of things," Kevin replied with a far away look. Lara started to feel bad for prying, but she really wanted to know.  
  
"Well, you never know," Lara started, " Eh. . . . there are others out there."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Kevin sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kevin, I. . . . shouldn't have asked. I'll leave now, if you want.  
  
"No, no, you're fine. Just. . . . just don't talk about it anymore."  
  
"You know," Lara said, "I know this is still on the subject, but I've never really had a serious relationship," she paused. "I'm always too busy to notice people or, well, be noticed."  
  
"I notice you."  
  
Lara couldn't help but blush. She and Kevin talked a bit more until Scott pulled him away to talk about something. Mustafa led them to the temple of Rokkonisha, the final resting place of the Talisman. Lara took a sip of her water and ate a few M & M's as she approached the temple. It wasn't very impressive on the outside, mostly crumbling rock with a statue here and there.  
  
Upon entering the stone gates to the temple, Nebeelah and Mustafa both warned the team that there would be quite a few challenges ahead and to be especially careful not to get caught in a trap. The traps proved to be deadly, as no one had come out alive before. They were also told to take special care to not disturb the god and goddesses. Everyone, including Lara, thought this was just superstition and didn't really listen to the warning. She entered the main chamber and was baffled by her surroundings.  
  
She had never seen anything so intense. Almost the entire room was made of gold. There were gold statues of gods, goddesses, idols, and everything you wouldn't expect to see in such a remote area. Thousands of faceted gems lit up the chamber like it was on fire. It was spectacular.  
  
Sorry it's been so long! Chapter 4 is coming. Sorry for the wait. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I love you guys! 


	4. Crypt?

Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, but any unfamiliar characters are mine.  
  
Chapter 4: Crypt?  
  
Lara unzipped her backpack and took out her camera. After taking a few polaroids of the chamber, she walked up to one of the idols. It was a goddess, she could tell, and it was very beautiful. It had ruby eyes and was sculpted from ivory, instead of the pure gold that everything else seemed to be made of.  
  
There were at least a dozen more like it around the perimeter of the room. They were beautiful, nonetheless. In the middle of the room was a sundial surrounded by glass. Judging by the position of the windows, when the sun hit the dial, the light would bounce off of the gems and onto a fixture in the ceiling. This fixture was made entirely of glass and looked like an upside- down serpent head. It was quite odd, really. There wasn't anything like this in Egypt or anywhere else she'd been.  
  
Lara guessed that the sun would hit the serpent at around four o'clock. She noticed that the windows were positioned so that the moon could shine on the serpent as well. Leave it to ancient people to come up with a complex mechanism revolving around the sun and moon. She took a few pictures of the dial and the glass head before moving on. Rhea was already in the next room, looking at an altar. There were bowls and several dagger- like instruments laying on a table next to the altar. Behind it was a hierarchy of chairs. Lara assumed that the largest chair in the center was most likely the shaman's chair.  
  
"Look," Rhea said with a nod in Lara's direction. "There's still blood on some of these. You don't suppose these were for human sacrifices?"  
  
"It's probable," was Lara's reply. "Why else would they be here?" Rhea shrugged.  
  
Lara moved on under an archway that led to a massive room with hallways and doors leading everywhere. She pulled the map out of her backpack and headed down the one that hadn't been explored yet. Actually, there were quite a few tunnels that hadn't been explored yet, but the one farthest to the left was the one that she happened to pick. From a distance, it was the darkest tunnel, but when you got closer to it, it was more like the rest.  
  
She headed down the tunnel and took out her flashlight. The walls were totally bare, and the air was frigid. Before Lara even got halfway down, she could make out her breath in the air, and that's it. When she shined her flashlight, all she could see was more darkness, so she kept the beam on the floor so she could focus on the path. Eventually, she came to a dead end and she couldn't find a way to continue. . . . that is, until she looked up. There were grips, almost like a rock climbing wall, in the ceiling. She jumped up and grabbed one of them. She put the flashlight in her mouth and started making her way across the gap.  
  
When she looked down, the beam shone on piles of corpses and skeletons fifty feet below. There were dozens of backpacks strewn everywhere and some of the people skeletons were still clothed. What disturbed Lara though was the blood trail that led out of the pit and up the wall to where Lara was right now. She glanced to the right and saw a large hole in the side of the cave. There weren't any grips going there, however, so she decided to just keep going onward. After a few minutes of swinging across the grips, Lara's arms began to shake and her palms were sweaty. She shone the light ahead and saw that she was near the end. She couldn't have guessed how far she had gone, but she knew that the others might be looking for her.  
  
As soon as she was above solid ground, she let go of the grips and dropped to the floor. Lara had apparently underestimated the ancient architects because as soon as she touched the ground, it swung open like a trap door. Lara slid down the steep slope into a dimly lit, damp, dark room. It was fairly stark except for a few chain fixtures that hung from the ceiling. Lara grabbed one of the torches from the holds on the wall and looked around for an exit. As Lara started to walk around, the flashlight fell from her back pocket and she saw that there was blood all over the floor. She did not, however, see any corpses so she figured that no one had actually died here. Either that, or whatever dragged the people out of the pit had taken bodies from down here as well.  
  
Suddenly, Lara heard a loud screech before she turned around fire singed her right elbow. The pain was excruciating and her only reflex was to swipe her guns out of the holsters and start shooting like mad. The flashes from the shots revealed a smaller version of the demon from her dream. Its eyes were venomous looking and she had to jump and run every few seconds to avoid the spray of fire that came her way. She shot at the eyes and when she got one of them, the demon screamed so loud that the room shook. It pounded its tail into the ground and then looked Lara right in the face. It stood still just long enough for Lara to snicker and pump the other eye full of metal.  
  
She thought that this would kill the beast, considering that its fire- spraying eyes were its only defense mechanism. Instead, it writhed on the floor until an eerie blue light appeared. The light grew stronger and stronger until a black sword materialized out of this air. Lara hesitated before taking the sword. As soon as she stepped into the light, a wave of energy went up her arm and flowed through her entire body. It was almost like an out of body experience. She slowly rose and then brought the sword down with so much force that it slashed the demon in half. The monster died in two separate parts, the man part grew legs and curled into the fetal position and the dragon half grew a head and rolled onto its back.  
  
The energy left Lara as fast as it had come and she dropped the sword. She put her head between her legs and tried to catch her breath for a few moments. She really had to get to the entrance now. She slowly got up and walked back to the blue light. She glanced at her burnt arm and realized that it wasn't burnt anymore. She saw herself fading and closed her eyes.  
  
In a matter of seconds she was back in one of the entrance chambers, lying on her back on the sundial she had photographed before. Her gaze drifted upwards to the serpent head and she saw that it was glowing blue. She smiled before rolling off of the dial and passing out onto the floor. 


	5. Sick Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, but any other unfamiliar characters are mine.  
  
Chapter 5: Sick Conspiracy  
  
Lara woke up staring at a statue. She had to blink a few times before fully regaining consciousness. As she propped herself up against the dial, her head started to spin. She sat there for a few moments and slowly started to get up. Her stomach started to turn, so she ran to an urn and wretched all over it. When she stopped quivering, she opened her backpack and took a few sips of water. Then, she slowly walked out of the room, then out of the temple.  
  
"Hey, Lara!" Scott and Riona shouted in unison, "We've been looking for you!"  
  
"Yeah," Rhea panted, "where have you been?"  
  
"Oh, I was--"  
  
"Lara!" Kevin came running from behind, "Lara, you have to see something!"  
  
"Excuse me," Lara said. She slowly made her way over to Kevin; she wasn't quite over her queasiness yet. "Yes?"  
  
"Come here-run,"  
  
"No, Kevin, I can't..." Kevin stopped and looked back.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"No, not really." He walked back over and gave her a quick once-over.  
  
"Yeah, you look a little pale, and a little too flushed in your cheeks. Eh.. why don't I just get you a ride back to the checkpoint?"  
  
"Alright." Normally, Lara wasn't one to let something like this get the best of her, but she really felt horrible. At one point, Kevin had to grab hold of her stomach and put her arm around his shoulder.  
  
"Hey!" Scott shouted. "What's the matter?!"  
  
"I'm taking her back to the checkpoint, I'll be back later."  
  
Kevin helped Lara into one of the Jeeps and took a seat beside her. Lara couldn't stand it any longer and puked over the side.  
  
"That's it," Kevin soothed. "Easy now." He reached into Lara's backpack and got out a bottle of water. He soaked a rag from his pocket and put it against her forehead. Slowly, he brought her head down to his lap. "Easy now," he repeated.  
  
When they reached the checkpoint, Lara was barely conscious and her clothes were soaked with perspiration. The staff had to bring out a stretcher to take her back to the medi- tent. It was a lot cooler inside the tent; there were fans everywhere and a small air-conditioning unit. It made Lara feel a little better, but not enough. She looked at her elbow again and saw that no, it wasn't burnt. Instead, there was a green, infected looking mark all over it.  
  
Very suddenly, Lara started to tremble. It started in her hands, and then went up her arms and legs. She lost all feeling throughout her entire body and then proceeded to shake violently.  
  
"She's having a seizure!" one of the nurses shouted. A team of doctors swarmed around her. One was holding a syringe, the others were trying to hold her down. All Lara could make out was someone shouting her name. Pretty soon, the room faded to black and Lara was gone once Again.  
  
* * *  
  
"Did you do it?"  
  
"Of course I did! What, do you think I'm fucking retar---"  
  
"SHHHHHHHH!"  
  
"Okay, okay. I did it, but it wasn't easy. I set Magor on her, but she beat him. I thought for sure the climbing would be enough, but I guess not."  
  
"Alright, don't give her anymore. We'll see what happens when she wakes up."  
  
* * *  
  
Lara awoke at night. Much to her dismay, she was hooked up to an IV tube so she couldn't leave. She started fidgeting around, trying to find a way to get it off when a nurse came in.  
  
"I--- I heard voices," was all Lara managed to get out.  
  
"Hush now," the nurse chided, "get some rest." Lara sighed as she laid back on her pillow. This was going to be a long night. 


End file.
